(LOS ANGELES, CA) -- Phil Varone, who first achieved fame as a hard rocking drummer and later as an adult movie performer and director, will receive the IES Rock Honors "Rock Hard" award at the Indie Entertainment Summit on August 4 from noon to 7pm at the Federal Bar (5303 Lankershim Bl., N. Hollywood 91601) for his work with the bands Skid Row and Saigon Kick and now as performer and director with Vivid Entertainment. The IES takes place from August 1-5 and for information on artists and schedules visit www.IESfest.com and www.IESRockHonors.com.

"Congratulations to Phil! He is a hard working guy who loves and is extremely passionate about his work. There is no question that he will be as successful in the adult world as he's been in rock 'n roll," said Steven Hirsch, founder and co-CEO of Vivid Entertainment, which distributed Varone's first adult movie, Phil Varone's Secret Sex Stash and the current best seller, Swinging American Style, Texas F**k 'Em under the Vivid Celeb imprint.

IES Co-Executive Director Jay Warsinske noted, "Phil personifies the freedom of a rocker's life and his crossover into porn is a natural step for him. We applaud his move and believe that he is very deserving of the Rock Hard Award – in more ways than one."

"Cultural Ambassador to the Sunset Strip" Willie Basse (Buddy Miles/Black Sheep) will present the award to Varone who began playing in various local bands while still in high school in Fort Lauderdale. In 1988, he helped form Saigon Kick, which signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records and earned a Gold Record for the album, the Lizard as well as a Billboard top 10 single for the song, "Love is On the Way." After the band dissolved, Varone joined multi-platinum recording artists Skid Row and in 2003, Varone played drums for Vince Neil of Motley Crue on his solo tour. Varone was reported to have had sex with more, than 3,000 women during his rock career.

I E S – the Indie Entertainment Summit – is an invitation-only, five-day music and entertainment conference and festival focused on music, movies, television and modeling. It features over 80 workshops and seminars led by top industry pros designed to help musical artists, bands, managers, models, DJs, film makers, and independent labels/entertainment companies. Among the speakers are legendary artists, producers, managers and execs who have worked with the world's biggest musical artists. Each evening will feature concerts, performances, film premieres and showcases by attending talent and name performers in a variety of top venues from Hollywood to Universal Studios to the booming NoHo arts district in North Hollywood.

About Vivid:

Founded in 1984, Vivid has always placed heavy emphasis on high quality erotic film entertainment and has created wide brand-name awareness through its films and the www.vivid.com website, an innovative marketing and a licensing program that extends to advertising, apparel, book publishing and a range of other products. Co-founder and CEO Steven Hirsch was honored in 2012 with the first AVN Visionary Award as a leader who "Has propelled innovation and taken his company and the business as a whole to new heights." In addition to its Vivid-Celeb imprint famous for celebrity sex tapes, the company is known for its Vivid Super XXXHeroes parodies and award-winning feature films. Vivid maintains the single largest studio archive of adult films. For more on Vivid visit Twitter.com/VividCorp or Facebook.com/vividgirls.

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